The M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives is the principal repository at the University at Albany and contains printed books, primary sources, archives, and manuscripts for the University at Albany community, as well as visiting scholars, students, and the public. The Department’s mission is to collect, preserve, provide access to, exhibit, and encourage research use of the Libraries' unique manuscript and archival collections. The digital collection include digitized and born digital material from the University Archives, Norman Studer papers, WAMC Program Archive, and the Marcia Brown papers.

Hosted by the University at Albany, the New York State Writers Institute is the fruition of William Kennedy's vision for a literary crossroads in Albany. The Writers Institute has provided the broadest possible educational base for readers and students of writing to promote the literary arts. As its program offerings continue to grow, the Institute's central aim is to celebrate literature, writing, and performance. The collection can be viewed online.

The Art Collections of the University at Albany reflect over 30 years of contemporary art and include over 3,000 works (primarily on paper). The collections include works by such renowned artists as Vito Acconci, Mel Bochner, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Willem deKooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Leon Golub, Donald Judd, Grace Hartigan, Ellsworth Kelly, Louise Nevelson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Dieter Roth, Edward Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, and Robert Smithson. More recent acquisitions include works by Xu Bing, Yasumasa Morimura, Vic Muniz, Tim Rollins+ K.O.S., Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker.The department website is a gateway to hundreds of paper collections. The collection can be viewed online.